How to Search the Catalogue

Simple Searches

The search box at the top-right of every page can be used
for carrying out simple searches of the catalogue (please
note: this search box will not search the Names Database).
The Title, Description, Reference Number and Administrative
History fields are the only fields searched when using this
search box.

Advanced Searches (Catalogue)

The Advanced Search allows for searching of all text fields as well as searching via specific fields. The "Refine Search Criteria" tab next to some of the search boxes allows for more complex Boolean searches.

Any Text

This can be used to search all text fields within the
catalogue. (Please note: Any Text will not search date
fields or the Reference Number field.)

Repository

This can be used to search for material held by a
particular repository. Choose the desired repository from
the drop-down menu. Leaving this search box blank will
search all repositories.

Date

This can be used to search for a single year, or a dash can
be used to search for a range of years (e.g. 1922-1927).

Reference Number

This can be used to search via the reference number of the
material, if this is already known. The reference number
must be added in full, including all forward slashes.

The Reference Number search box can also be used if you
would like to search within a specific collection. To search
within a collection, type in the reference number for the
whole collection followed by /* (For example, the reference
number for the Ann Hutchinson Guest collection is AHG. To
search within the Ann Hutchinson Guest collection, type
AHG/* into the Reference Number search box.)

Alternative Reference Number

Occasionally the reference number of a document will change
over time; when this happens, older reference numbers are
recorded in the Alternative Reference Number field. If a
search using the Reference Number search box is
unsuccessful, it is worth searching via the Alternative
Reference Number search box instead.

Level

The Level field is used to denote the level of a catalogue
description, ranging from descriptions of whole collections
(known as "Fonds") to descriptions of single files and
items within those collections. To see a list of all the
collections in the catalogue, choose "Fonds" from the
drop-down menu. Leaving this search box blank will search
all levels of description.

Advanced Searches (Names Database)

The Names Database currently only contains the names and dates of study for all students who studied at Whitelands College from 1865 to 1917; we are in the process of adding more names and dates.

To search the Names Database choose the Advanced Search option. The "Refine Search Criteria" tab next to some of the search boxes allows for more complex Boolean searches.

Any Text

This can be used to search all text fields within the Names
Database. (Please note: Any Text will not search date
fields or the Code field.)

Name

This can be used to search for a whole name or for part of a name (for example: it can be used to search for "Mary Parker" or for just "Parker").

If you cannot find a name through a search of the Name field, it is worth searching for the same name in an Any Text search, because alternative and earlier names are sometimes listed in other fields. (Please note: in most cases, married surnames are not recorded in this database.)

If a name is not found using the Name search box, this may
be because the name has changed over time (for example: if
a surname changed upon marriage). In cases where a name
isn't found through a search of the Name field, it is worth
searching for the same name in an Any Text search, because
alternative and earlier names are sometimes listed in other
fields. (Please note: in most cases, married surnames are
not recorded in this database.)

College

Choose the student's place of study from the drop-down menu. Leaving this search box blank will search all colleges.

Dates of Study

This search box can be used to search via the student's dates of study. It is possible to search for a single year, or a dash can be used to search for a range of years (e.g. 1899-1900)

Student Number

This search box can be used to search by the student's student number, if this is known.

Browsing the Catalogue

You can browse all material within a collection. Click on the reference number when viewing a catalogue record. This will bring up a tree that shows where that record sits within the collection; from the tree you can browse to any other record within the same collection.

To bring up a list of all collections in the catalogue,
please see how to search by Level in the "Advanced Searches
(Catalogue)" section above.

Please note: publications are continually being added to
the library catalogue, so please Contact Us if you can't
find what you are looking for.

Uncatalogued Material

We are in the process of cataloguing our collections, so
some material has not yet been catalogued. Please Contact
Us if you can't find what you are looking for.

For some uncatalogued collections, brief listings and older catalogues are available to download in pdf format. To browse and download these listings and older catalogues, go to Advanced Search, then search under the Reference Number field for: LISTS/* (please note: you must include the /* for the search to work). The entries for these listings and older catalogues all contain a download link in the Multimedia field.